Ribbed knitted fabric



May 23, 1933. J. A. PHILLIPS RIBBED KNITTED FABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 3, 1930 INVENTOR JIfi.Philli .s,

May 23, 1933. J. A. PHILLIPS 1,910,932

RIBBED KNITTED FABRIC Filed May 5, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR /a 1540 4/5 1 JfiPhillips,

ATTO EYS' Patented May 23, 1933 JOHN, ARGHIBALD rHILLirs,

mear arms or NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND,

RIBIBED KNITTED FABRIC application filed May 3, 1930, Serial No.449,646, and in Great Britain m 7, 1929.

This invention comprises improvementst in ribbed knitted fabrics. a a

It is well'known in the art that if a" ground and plating thread are fedin the normal manner to the needles of a rib knitting" machine each faceof thefabric will present both threads. That is to say, on one face ofthe fabric the loops produced by thence-dles drawing thread in onedirection will present OllQOf the said threads, for ex -a-mple,-theground thread, and on the same face of the fabric the other thread, saythe plating thread, will be presented by the A loops produced by thoseneedles drawing thread in the opposite direction. Similarly on the otherface of the fabric the two threads will be presented but in the reverserelation to the manner in which they are presented on thefirst mentionedfabric face.

Numerous attempts have hithertobeen madetoproduce ribbed fabrics whichpre sent one threadon one face and another thread ont he opposite face,by feeding one thread to the needles which draw their loops in onedirection and another thread to theneedles which draw their loops in theopposite direction, but fabrics produced by these means embody twosuper- ;posed webs'joined at their sinker wales, or

by-additional threads, and consequently, do not possess the degree ofelasticity common to ribbed fabrics" "lheprincipal object of the presentinven- ,tionmay be said to reside in the provision one face and aplating thread on the other face and having that degree of elasticitycommon to ribbed fabrics.

In an improved rlbbed fabric according to this invention the rlbs of oneface are comprised by composite knitted loops of ground andplatingthreads, and the ribs of said fabric, and

dles upon which the fabric is producedbe he other face are comprisedsolely by knitted loops ofthe groundthread about which latter loops theplating thread is looped without being knitted.

The invention is to be clearly distin- 6 guished from ribbed fabricswhich, for the purpose of reducing their elasticity, have been producedby feeding one yarn to'all of. the needles drawing loops in oppositedirections' and another yarn to the needles drawing loops in onedirection and in which, when yarns of different colour are used, asubdued mottled or tinted appearance is imparted to the fabric by theblending of the colours.

Fabrics in accordance with this invention may be of the single web typeor may be of the type comprising tworibbed webs having crossed sinkerwales and in which the ribs of one web are disposed in the spacesbefront elevation and.

plan respectivelyof an arrangement of nee 7 dles and thread feeds forproducing the" fabric illustrated in Figure 1.

Figures 4 and 5 are similar views of an alternative arrangementforproducing the Figure 6 is an enlarged plan View of a] portion ofdouble web plated ribbed fabric 1 according to thisinvention,some of theneeing also shown.

The production of the improved single web plated ribbed fabric accordingto this invention may be carried out on a circular knitting machine ofthe customary type adapted for producing ordinary ribbed fabric, such amachine usually having a set of vertically disposed cylinder needlesarranged in a predetermined order and co-operating with a predeterminedarrangement of horizontally disposed needles accommodated within radialtricks in a dial'suitably supported concentric with the needle cylinder.The needles may conveniently be of the latch type and are slidablyoperated in the well known manner by means of cams rotating relativelyto the said needle cylinder anddial.

In a machine asabove adapted for the production of the fabricillustrated in Figure 1, there is one horizontal dial needle interposedbetween each pair of vertical cylinder needles around the machine, therows of loops A, which. will be hereinafter referred to as rib loops,being produced by the cylinder needles and the rows of loops B, whichwill be hereinafter referred to as Wale loops, being produced by thedial needles.

In one convenient arrangement of needles and thread feeding devicesshown in Figures 2 and 3, adapted for producing the fabric shown inFigure l, the cylinder needles are designated 1 and the dial needles aredesignated 2.

The body or ground thread {I and plating yarn p are independently fedthrough suitable guides 3 and 4, at spaced positions around the machineand any suitable known type of thread tensioning devices may, ifdesired, be employed in connection therewith.

The sequential operation of the two sets of needles and the feeding ofthe threads in the production of the improved fabric are as follows Thecylinder needles 1 rise as shown at 0, Fig. 2, and clear their old loopsbeneath their latches and are then lowered to the tucking height at D.Simultaneously, the .dial needles 2 move forward under the influence ofsuitable cams of the customary type until they occupy the tuckingposition shown at E, Fig. 3, the old loops thereon remaining over theirlatches as shown. The jdial needles are then retracted, take theplatingyarn p and draw said plating yarn over and between the cylinderneedles at the position F, Fig. 3. The needles 2 then again move forwardand clear their old loops and the new plating yarn beneath their latchesat the position G, after which the dial needles are again retracted andthe cylinder needles lowered to cause both sets of needles to take andknit the body or ground yarn g which is fed by the suitably positionedfeeders 3.

Both sets of needles travel around the machine in the direction of thearrow X.

The thread 39 is plated over the thread 9 in, the :well kn wn 1 nanneren the cylinder;

needles and covers the whole of the rib loops A in the fabric, and thesaid yarn p is cast off with and covers the upper parts of the old waleloops B, or Wale loops of the last preceding course formed on the dialnee- Giles, and the said plated thread after leaving the dial needlesappears on the same face of the fabric as the plated rib loops formed onthe cylinder needles.

In connection with the fabric shown in Fig. 1, it will be understoodthat for 1 1, poses of clear illustration the ground-yarn is shown inhatched lines at the back of the plain plating yarn 12, although in theactual fabric the yarn p is superposed on the yarn g and entirely hidessame from View on the side of the fabric illustrated. As a consequence,each of the yarns p and 9 appears on one side only of thefabricillustrated except at the positions m where the yarns cross eachother and in the fabric illustrated, a minute and inconsiderable portionof the ground thread appears on the front face and a similar portion ofplating thread passes to the rear face of the fabric.

The loops of plating thread p, which rest loosely on the dial needles 2,when they move forward for the second time at the position G, to cleartheir old loops and the said plating thread beneath their latches, areretained on the needles, during such move: ment, by means of a smoothwire or other resilient metal guard or keeper 5 which bears against thesaid loose plating yarn and, as shown, extends around part of thecircumference of the machine, immediately at the rear of the cylinderneedles 1 and beneath the dial needles 2, the said keeper beingsupported from the dial cam box 6 or other convenient part of themachine.

In lieu of the wire or other keeper 5 for retaining the loose platingyarn on the needles, above described, sinkers, web holders or one ormore other suitable devices may be employed.

The above sequence of operations may be repeated at one or moredifferent positions around the machine and any suitable known. types ofyarn changing mechanism may be employed at the two positions where theground and/or plating yarns are fed.

In the modified arrangement of needles and yarn feeding device forproducing the improved fabric, shown in Figures 4 andf. the ground andplating yarns g and p are fed to the needles 1 and 2 through apertures 7and 8 provided in a single feeder member 9 of any suitable form. Thecylinder needles are raised at the position C in Fig. 4, to clear theirold loops, in the customary manner and are then lowered to the tuckingheight indicated at D the said needles being of the threads g and p.Simultaneously, the dial needles are thrown fully outwards, as

subsequently lowered to take and knit both shown at G in Fig. 5, cleartheir old loops beneath their latches and are retracted to take theground yarn g in their hooks but the plating yarn p under their latches.The aperture 8 through whichthe plating yarn p is fed to the needles ispositioned as shown to the rear of and below the aperture 7 throughwhich the ground yarn g is fed, to ensure the said plating yarn beinglaid upon the dial needles under the latches thereof. Therefore, bothsets of needles 1 and 2 take and knit the ground yarn and the cylinderneedles 1 also knit and plate the yarn p but the said yarn 37, beingreceived beneath the latches of the needles 2, is cast off the saidneedles 2, with the loops of the last preceding course, platesthe upperparts of said loops and appears on the same face of the fabric as itdoes when it is subsequently cast off from the cylinder needles.

In this modification, by feeding ing yarn directly beneath the latchesof the dial needles 2 and subsequently retracting the said needles,there is no tendency for the loose plating yarn to move out of positionand the necessity for the keeper member 5, in the arrangementillustrated in Figures 2 and 3, is obviated.

It is to be clearly understood that it is within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention to produce the improved ribbed fabric on circularmachines other than of the type referred to above and to produce thesaid fabric on fiat or straight bar knitting machines and the abovedescribed means for and method of producing the improved fabric aremerely to be regarded as particular embodiments.

The particular fabric illustrated in Figure 1, wherein the plating yarnp constitutes practically the whole of one face thereof,

while retaining substantially the same elasticity as a one-and-oneplated ribbed fabric,

is of a considerably lighterweight than such a fabric. 7

The invention may be applied to a double ribbed fabric of. the typecomprising two ribbed webs the sinker wales of which are crossed; and inwhich the ribsof one web are disposed in the spaces between the ribs ofthe other web, said double fabric being produced on a machine having twobeds of oppositely positioned needles drawing loops in oppositedirections, and the needles of both of the said beds being divided intotwo sets.

A fabric of the above type according to this invention is particularlyadapted for production on a circular knitting machine but may readily beproduced on other types of machines.

In producingthe improved double fabric on a circular machine any desiredeven number of feeders may be provided, the feeders applying thread tothe one set of needles althe platthe needles hereinbefore described incon- DGCUOII Wlt-lfllllfii production of the single web fabric "shown inFigure 1. It should be -11oted, however, that whereas in the pro-iduct-ionlof the single web fabricas hereinbefore descrlbed the dialneedles may be regarded as onesetand the cylinder needles as the-otherset; each of the two sets of needles for producing the double webfabricis composed of alternate of both dial and cylinder needles.

In Figure 6 the cylinder and dial needles indicated 1a and 2a:constitute one set and the alternate needles indicated 1?) and 2bconstitute the other set.

The operation of each of the sets of needles 1a and 2a, and 1b and 2b inexactly the same manner as the needles 1 and 2 hereinbefore describedresults in the production of a fabric comprising two plated ribbed webseach identical with the fabric shown in Fig. 1 and joined by virtue oftheir sinker wales crossing. These webs are indicated at and W in Fig.6'wherein the loops of a portion of an improved double fabric accordingto this invention which have been last produced are shown in plancomposed of composite rib loops P- of ground and plating thread and theother orrear face of the fabric is composed of single rib loops S ofground thread, at the back of which the plating thread p is cast withthe loop S appertaining to the preceding knitted course. Thus the frontface of the fabric presents the plating thread only and the rear facethe ground thread only.

The plating yarn p may extend continuously throughout the improvedfabrics to provide a surface of a desired nature or colour onsubstantially the whole of one side thereof, as illustrated, or may beintroduced in the fabric at predetermined positions, to provide thereonreinforced or pattern surfaces of a predetermined design, the fabricretaining substantially the same degree of elasticity common to ribbedfabrics.

I claim 1. A ribbed knitted fabric comprising two ribbed webs eachcomposed of independent ground and plating threads, the said webs havingcrossed sinker wales and the ribs of one web being disposed in thespaces between the ribs of the other web, the ribs of both websconstituting one fabric face comprising loops composed of ground andplating threads and the ribs of both webs consti-' solely of knitted.loops of the ground threads about which latter loops the respectiveplating threads are looped without being knitted.

2. A ribbed knitted fabric wherein the ribs of one face are comprised ofcomposite knitted loops of ground and plating threads and the ribs ofthe other face are comprised solely of knitted loops of the same groundthread that comprises the ribs of the opposite face about which the sameplating thread that comprises the ribs of the oppositeface is loopedwithout being knitted.

JOHN ARCHIBALD PHILLIPS.

